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Monday, September 13, 2010

September 12, 2010

Breakfast

Chia Crackers

serves 1 ~ $.96 per serving

4 tablespoons chia seeds ($.81)

1 cup water

1 ripe banana ($.15)

pinch salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

The kind folks over at GetChia.com sent some of their chia seeds for me to try. The company is wonderfully easy to work with and the chia seeds were well packaged and extremely fresh. I really like their free shipping, too. Right now, you can get 10% off your entire chia seed purchase (over $15) using the coupon code:

rawon10

Chia seeds are pretty amazing. They're relatively high in protein, as well as calcium, fiber, potassium, and more. They are the highest source of omega-3s, providing even more than salmon. They're quite cost effective as well, being similar in price to hemp seeds. I've also discovered they can be used in the very same way as flax seeds.

So, in addition to different gelled porridge type dishes, chia seed can be made into crisp crackers. They can be made any flavor, too. I thought sweet would be nice for breakfast.

Grind the chia seeds in a bullet type blender or with a mortar and pestle. If you don't have those things, that's OK, just use the seeds whole.

Put the seeds in a blender and add the rest of the ingredients. Blend until smooth, which takes about a half minute. Let sit for about twenty minutes until the seeds have gelled and then spread about 1/8th in inch thick onto lined dehydrator trays. Chia seeds dry more quickly than flax, so flip and peel these from the sheet after about a half hour to an hour. Dry until crispy, about another three hours or overnight. These go really well with a dab of nut butter.

calories: 244

fat: 9 gr

carbs: 36 gr

protein: 6 gr

Lunch

Salad with Green Garlic Dressing

serves 2 ~ $2.40 per serving

1 head green leaf lettuce, chopped ($1.89)

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved ($1.00)

1 medium onion, sliced

3 ounces sliced mushrooms, sliced ($1.00)

2 tablespoons olive oil ($.20)

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar ($.20)

2 tablespoons agave ($.20)

small bunch parsley leaves ($.50)

2 cloves garlic

salt and pepper to taste

Can you believe it's almost fall? Honestly, I'm not ready for summer to be over! I can't postpone fall, but there is still fun to be had in the garden. In my area, this is the time to start the fall lettuces and greens. They grow really well in the cooler temperatures. Which is a good thing, because they can be used to make an endless variety of salads.

This is just a very simple green salad assembled with chopped green leaf lettuce, the last of the cherry tomatoes, onion, and mushrooms. The dressing is made by combining the olive oil, vinegar, agave, parsley, and garlic in a blender and pureeing until very smooth. A small bullet type blender can be used for the dressing. To make larger batches of dressing, just double or triple the ingredients and save any leftovers in the fridge.

calories: 269

fat: 14 gr

carbs: 34 gr

protein: 6 gr

Dinner

Salad with Blackberry Dressing

serves 2 ~ $1.50 per serving

1 head romaine, chopped ($1.29)

6 leaves kale, chopped ($.50)

2 carrots, shaved or sliced ($.20)

2 ribs celery, sliced ($.20)

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

4 tablespoons blackberry sauce (see dessert recipe below) ($.50)

2 tablespoons olive oil ($.20)

teaspoon apple cider vinegar ($.10)

salt and pepper to taste

I love blackberries and this is my new favorite salad dressing. And yes, this is the second salad of the day. It's not true that a raw and vegan lifestyle means living on salads, but any healthy diet includes lots of them. It's a good thing they taste so great!

This is a simple salad, assembled with chopped romaine, sliced carrots (I used a vegetable peeler), and sliced celery and onions. The dressing really makes this wonderful, even though it's also incredibly simple. Just puree the blackberry sauce, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar until smooth. This is a small batch, but can be doubled, tripled or more and stored in the fridge for up to a week.

I've had no luck getting local blackberries and used frozen in this recipe.

I know, I have banana ice cream here almost every week. The truth is, I just haven't become bored with it yet ... I've also rarely eaten the same flavor twice. It seems almost endlessly versatile.

Make a batch of banana ice cream by pureeing the sliced and frozen bananas in a food processor fitted with an "S" blade. Add the vanilla and pulse a few times to incorporate. Yep, that's it ... although it does take a bit of time and scraping down the sides to get this to come together.

The blackberry sauce is made by pureeing the blackberries with the agave and then straining out the seeds with a mesh sieve. The sauce is perfectly smooth and sweet. Make sure to set aside some to use in the blackberry salad dressing above. Garnish with a few whole blackberries.

Wow! Wow, wow, wow! I LOVE your blog! This is excellent! The photos, the graphics, the content, the videos, the giveaways, the layout! This is just awesome! I wish I had discovered your blog sooner. I'm definitely following. :) Maybe you'll stop by my raw food & fitness blog and follow back. :)

I remember reading a previous Ice cream post about how the ice cream gets really hard if you freeze it. Saw this recipe on Sunfood and thought of you. The link is http://www.sunfood.com/MyPages/recipe-maca-vanilla-ice-cream.aspx , but basically uses psyllium seed husk (only 1 and 1/2 T. in the recipe). It also uses coconut butter, which I wonder if that helps. Anyhoo, thought you might like to experiment.~Sharilyn